Longtime area softball slugger Howie Krause knows a thing or two about what a softball swing should look like.
On Browns quarterback Brian Hoyer, who put on an impressive display on July 17 at Classic Park during the home run derby portion of Joe Haden’s Celebrity Softball game, Krause said, “He’s got a good-looking swing, and knows what it takes to lift a softball. The rest of the guys, I’m not so sure.”

He forgot one other Browns player: cornerback Buster Skrine, who literally came out of nowhere to put on an impressive show of power to claim the home run derby crown away from fan favorite Hoyer.
Skrine outhomered Hoyer, 2-1, in the final to win the event. Hoyer hit 11 total homers, and Skrine nine.
Before the contest, Skrine and his Browns teammates took batting practice in the Captains’ indoor facility. It was the first time Skrine had ever swung a softball bat — in his life.
“I was feeling pretty comfortable, thanks to taking batting practice,” said Skrine. “I played baseball from first grade to eighth grade. After that, it was football, basketball and track. When I played baseball, I was asked to bunt a lot, so I finally got to swing away today.”
Following his derby win, Skrine predicted he would hit a ball out of Classic Park. He nearly did. For the charity game and derby, a shortened fence was implemented and Skrine took advantage.
He hit two home runs during the game, including a two-run shot to center that one-hopped Classic Park’s fence. Dead center is 400 feet from home plate.
“I was trying to hit the ball hard and get the ball over the fence,” said Skrine about his derby performance. “I wasn’t thinking technique or anything like that.
“Before (the derby), I was asked how I was going to do, and I said, ‘I’ll be MVP.’ There you go.”
Krause, a North grad and current Lakeland Community College baseball coach, and other nationally known softball sluggers Shannon Hebb of North Carolina and Kyle Moyer of Tiffin put on a hitting exhibition between each round and didn’t disappoint.
Moyer peppered the roof of the indoor batting facility deep in right field on several shots while right-handers Krause and Hebb plunked the seats many times in the left-field bleachers. On Krause’s last round, he hit four out of the park.
As much as a show that trio put on, Hoyer’s power created a buzz in the ballpark. His first two home runs during the derby made it to the bleachers, the second nearly over them.
“I hadn’t played softball in at least three years,” said Hoyer. “The first two (home runs) felt really good.”
Cornerbacks T.J. Heath and Jordan Poyer made the semifinals. Poyer’s swing was smooth throughout the derby and with good reason. He was a standout high school baseball player in Oregon and in 2009 was named the state’s player of the year and was drafted by the Marlins. Poyer said he was close to signing before deciding on football.

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Mark's an Ohio State graduate who's been with The News-Herald since 1996. He enjoys exercising, reading, writing, cooking, spending time with his family and college football. Reach the author at mpodolski@news-herald.com
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